Investcorp, the Bahrain-based company which counts Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, acquired a portfolio of US properties, pushing its total investment into the country’s real estate market to $2 billion (Dh7.34bn) in the past 18 months.
The Manama-listed alternative investment manager took over eight single-tenant distribution properties in various locations across the US for a combined purchase price of approximately $170 million, it said in a regulatory filing. The properties of US Distribution Centre in logistics sector covers a total of 130,064 square metres, it added.
The recent acquisition adds to “our growing portfolio of assets in the logistics space, a core component of our global real estate investment strategy,” said Hazem Ben-Gacem, co-chief executive of Investcorp.
“We have a bullish outlook on logistics real estate assets because we believe they are supported by strong market dynamics, especially on the back of the healthy growth in e-commerce.”
The properties are fully leased long-term across key cities in the US, which will enable the company to reap attractive cash flow, he added.
Investcorp, in which Mubadala holds a 20 per cent stake, has been on an acquisition spree in recent quarters. The company, which had $22.5bn in assets under management at the end of December, aims to double these to around $50bn in the next three years.
Since its inception in 1982, the company has made more than 185 investments in the US, Europe and the broader Middle East and North Africa, including Turkey. Investcorp has invested across a range of sectors with the total transaction value exceeding $59bn.
The company is looking to raise in excess of $7bn this year for acquisitions in the Arabian Gulf and Asia. It expects its GCC portfolio of $1bn to rise to $1.5bn to $2bn in the next five years as it eyes assets in social infrastructure including health care, education and entertainment.
Investcorp has already set up a $1bn GCC infrastructure fund, which is a 50-50 joint venture with asset manager Aberdeen Standard Investments. Formal fundraising for the venture will start soon, Rishi Kapoor, the company co-chief executive told The National earlier this month.
